NETA SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE


netaji subhash chandra bose


Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was one of the most influential and Charismatic leaders of pre-Independent India. His life was full of mystery and adventure and indeed, his death has been a major issue and creates controversy from time to time.


Subhash Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897. His father was Rai Bahadur Janakinath Bose, a prominent lawyer of Cuttack, Orissa. His mother was Prabhavati Bose, a remarkable example of Indian womanhood. Later, the world came to know him as Netaji. After completing his early studies at the European Protestant Collegiate School in Cuttack, he came to Calcutta (presently, Kolkata) to study at residency College in 1913. Upon completing his graduation, he left India for England to appear at the Indian Civil Service Examination.


Subhash Chandra Bose felt that young militant groups could be molded into a military arm of the freedom movement and used to further the cause. Gandhiji opposed this ideology because it directly conflicted with his policy of Ahimsa Inon-violence). The British Government in India perceived Subhash as a potential source of danger and had arrested him without any charge on October 25, 1924. He was sent to Alipore Jail, Calcutta (now Kolkata), and on January 25, 1925 transferred to Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar). He was released from Mandalay in May, 1927 due to his ill health. Upon return to Calcutta (now Kolkata). Subhash was elected president of the Bengal Congress Committee on October 27, 1927.


Subhash was one of the few politicians who sought and worked towards Hindu-Muslim unity on the basis of respect of each community's rights. He, being a man of ideals believed in independence from the social evil of religious discord. In January 1930, Subhash Chandra Bose was arrested while leading a procession.

condemning the imprisonment of revolutionaries. He was offered bail on the condition

that he signs a bond to refrain from all political activities which he refused, As a result, he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment. On his release from jail, Subhash was sworn in as 'Mayor of the Calcutta Corporation. In 1931, the split between Gandhiji and Subhash crystallized. 

Although the two never saw eye-to-eye on their view of freedom and the movement itself Subhash felt that Gandhiji had done a great disservice to the movement by agreeing to take part in the 'Second Round Table Conference. He viewed freedom as an absolute necessity, unlike the freedom which Gandhiji was "negotiating with the British. Subhash was arrested again while returning from Bombay to Calcutta (Mumbai to Kolkata), and imprisoned in several jails outside West Bengal in fear of an uprising. His health once again deteriorated and the medical facilities diagnosed him with tuberculosis. It was recommended that he be sent to Switzerland for treatment.


Realizing that his avenues abroad were greater with the restrictions of the British, Subhash Chandra Bose set sail for Europe on February 23, 1933. He stayed in various parts of Europe from March 1933 to 1936 making contacts with Indian revolutionaries and European socialists supporting India's Struggle for Independence. Subhash met Mussolini in Italy and made Vienna his headquarters. He was opposed to the racial theory of Nazism but appreciated its organizational strength and discipline. On March 27, 1936, he sailed for Bombay (Mumbai), but was escorted to jail immediately after disembarkation.


After lying low for a year, he was able to work actively. He attended the 'All India Congress Committee Session in Calcutta (Kolkata), the first one he attended after a lapse of nearly six years. Time had healed the tensions between Subhash and Gandhiji. Now, Gandhiji supported Subhash in his efforts to become the president of the next Congress session, 1938.


He went to England for a month in 1938 and rallied for the Indian freedom cause amongst Indian students and British labour leaders sympathetic towards India's cause. It was a bold move since he was constantly under British surveillance Upon his return to India in February 1938, Subhash Chandra Bose was elected president of the Indian National Congress. 

Despite opposition from the Congress, Subhash Chandra Bose was a favourite amongst the majority as he was re-elected for a second term in March 1939 Bose was believed to have died in a plane crash over Taiwan, while flying to Tokyo on August 18, 1945. However, his body was never recovered, and theories concerning his possible survival abound.